About Betty’s Books

As a kid, Betty dreamed of working at a bookstore, and owning her own business. As a young adult, Betty wished she could find an indie bookstore that covered the wide range of comics out there AND was welcoming to all ages and sorts of folks. In her mid-thirties, she's delighted that these dreams have become a reality and is working really hard to keep it that way! Some of her favorite comics include Ducks by Kate Beaton, Maison Ikkoku by Rumiko Takahashi, and The Property by Rutu Modan. Her favorite binge read of last summer was The Wicked and the Divine written by Kieron Gillen, art by Jamie McKelvie.

Betty is also a mom! One of the best parts of her day is reading with her two kiddos. Some of her kids' favorite comics are Catstronauts by Drew Brockington and the Norma and Belly books by Mika Song. Betty truly believes there's a comic out there for everyone -- yes, even adults and "good readers" -- and comics are "real books" with value textually and visually. She is happy to help anyone find their match.

Alex joined Betty in opening Betty's Books while getting her Master's in American Culture Studies, and plans on sticking around for a loooong time. Her love of comic books started with Locke and Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, but Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios is the most beautiful she’s ever read. She enjoys reading comics targeted at any age group (Snapdragon by Kat Leyh may be for ages 8-12 but it's one of her all-time faves!) and she'll recommend Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama to anyone who will listen. Alex hopes that through being a part of the BB team she can help spread her love of comics far and wide, especially to the more hesitant folks out there (yes, comics are "real books.")! The comics medium is incredibly diverse literarily, and Alex truly believes there's a comic out there for everyone, if they're willing to try!

Alain is a nonbinary artist and illustrator, with a passion for graphic novels, comics, fiber arts, and community work. They are currently attending Webster University and will graduate with a BFA after one final semester. Their love of comics started with family collections of Calvin and Hobbes and Garfield, and it was grown by spending hours in the St. Louis County Library reading any manga they could get their hands on. Sailor Moon and Legend of Zelda really pulled them into art, creating a language of sparkles, nature, swords, and warm tones. When not adventuring around, Alain can be found at home, chilling with their cat Bagel and crocheting while watching something (video essays on YouTube, probably). They love all books, drifting from children's books and middle grade graphic novels such as Witch Boy, to memoirs like The Fire Never Goes Out and fantasy YA. Some of their favorite artists include Tillie Walden, Lynda Barry, Moebius, N.D. Stevenson, and Molly Ostertag.

The only issues Colin has more of than Superman are with his father! Colin studied film at Webster University with the hope of eventually finishing (unknown what to do after achieving a film studies degree.) Colin’s love of comics started with a beat up copy of Darkhawk and an issue of Superman Red that was eventually destroyed when they left it in their desk for a whole year in Miss Meyer’s class. In first grade, Colin attempted to make his first comic book, but lacking understanding of superhero naming conventions, created Potman and Fistaboy. One can’t spell previous descriptions of Colin without “Imposter Syndrome.”

Katie is an artist and illustrator with a passion for picture books. As a child of the 80’s and 90’s she collected countless stickers and was a self proclaimed sticker trading shark. Her favorite picture book back then was The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, & the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood, Art by Don Wood.

As a grownup she grows a wide variety of plants in her backyard while willfully ignoring the lack of sunlight. Her favorite picture book nowadays is Du Iz Tak? written and illustrated by Carson Ellis. With 12 years of experience teaching art to kids plus a toddler at home, Katie has loads of favorite kids’ books to recommend at the shop. She will also happily show off her 7 bursting sticker albums!

Lottie is a doll collecting, fashion-oriented little lady that’s been a Betty’s Books super fan for years! She’s an illustrator herself, planning to go to college for a BFA and pursue a career in animation and comics. She’s currently working on her own comics, and has so much original character lore waiting to be info-dumped that she’s pretty sure she could teach an A-class in filibustering. Lottie is crazy about fashion and makeup, and is a gyaru! You can expect to see her in elaborate outfits and makeup looks more often than not. She’s also a cosplayer and live-streamer!

Lottie’s been a lover of comics for her entire life. As a little girl, she and her parents would go to a sushi place that just so happened to be right next to a comic book store that they lovingly deemed ‘the nerd store’— and Lottie would buy random issues of whatever art styles inspired her, and take them home to draw style studies. As she got older, she started reading graphic novels and harboring a deep affection for Image comics. Her true first love when it comes to comics is definitely Snotgirl, of which she’s read multiple times and chose her preferred name from. It’s also the source of her fashion obsession, all those years ago! As well as Snotgirl, she’s a big fan of Papergirls, Saga, Deadly Class, and whatever indie graphic novel catches her eye. Lottie wants to share the inspiration she gets to create from reading comics with everyone she meets, and is very excited to recommend her faves to you.

Samantha first joined the Betty’s Books Team in 2021 when the store opened, and now she has returned for more! She’s currently a sophomore student at Webster University earning her degree in International Relations, with a minor in Japanese.
Her hyper-fixation of manga and comics started when she was in elementary school, and it’s been a passion ever since. Starting with Sailor Moon and Fairy Tale, little Samantha would read an average of 2 books a day and had the record for “most books checked out in one year” at her school.

Her current favorite titles are Toilet Bound Hanako-Kun, Snow White With The Red Hair, and Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otakus. When her nose isn’t stuck in a book series, she watches a bunch of anime and plays video games like Balders Gate 3, Honkai Starrail, and Minecraft. Most of all, she has a HUGE sweet tooth and can be commonly seen munching on a variety of candy and snacks. Smarties candy wrappers can be found following her wherever she goes.